Telstra invited Brian Solis earlier in the year to keynote its annual CIO Forum. There, he presented on the future of technology and innovation as part of the company’s annual CIO Forum. You can read a synopsis of his presentation here.

Following the discussion, the Telstra crew whisked him into the studio to shoot a quick video about the future of business and technology. His view, “it’s starts with a simple formula…Arrogance + Ignorance = Irrelevance.”

Brian believes that in an era of Digital Darwinism, where technology and society are forever evolving, we must invest in a philosophy, culture, and model to adapt…not just react.

The destiny of an organization, as he states, is in the hands of a leader, not a manager. Industry “growth champions” as Telstra refers to them, represented only 5% of all organizations the company surveyed in a research report that documented the state of business transformation. What separates the “5%” from others are those individuals that set out to try something different.

Brian’s advice? “Invest in people first, then embrace technology as the enabler.”

As he believes, we must not get caught up in perpetually reacting to technology. In the end, Brian suggested that if we replace “Information” with “Innovation,” we can change our perspective. As such, we can come together to solve problems, create opportunities, and do things better, simply by focusing on people, solutions, experiences, and outcomes. People first. Technology second.